Best YouTube Moments in California Basketball: The Nominees

Posted by Connor Pelton (@ConnorPelton28) on February 18th, 2014

Last month we introduced our new project, which is centered around determining the top YouTube moment in Pac-12 basketball history. We continue the nomination portion with California.

[ed note: These are just the top moments we could find on YouTube, which has a vast number and array of videos, but we won’t be able to cover the entire 99 years of the conference.]

 

We open with a shot from who is quickly becoming one of the most clutch California players in the history of its program. Tied at 46 with the shot clock turned off on the road against #23 Oregon, the Golden Bears decided that they would either win it in regulation or head to overtime. Guard Justin Cobbs chose the first option, stepping back and hitting nothing but twine to put Cal ahead by two with 0.7 seconds remaining. Oregon’s desperation heave at the buzzer fell well short, and the win kept alive what would end up as a seven-game winning streak for the Golden Bears. Read the rest of this entry »

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Best YouTube Moments in Oregon Basketball: The Nominees

Posted by Connor Pelton (@ConnorPelton28) on January 16th, 2014

Last month we introduced our new project, which is centered around determining the top YouTube moment in Pac-12 basketball history. We continue the nomination portion with Oregon.

[ed note: These are just the top moments we could find on YouTube, which has a vast number and array of videos, but we won’t be able to cover the entire 99 years of the conference.]

 

Up until this point, all of our videos have just been single plays. This Oregon nominee features our first real “moment,” which begins with point guard Aaron Brooks dropping a pull-up jumper to put the Ducks ahead of top-ranked UCLA by two with 13.4 seconds remaining. After a Bruins timeout, the Oregon defense stiffened, forcing a wild Josh Shipp three-point attempt at the buzzer that fell well short. Pandemonium ensued as the Pit Crew student section seemed to spill onto the court from all four corners.

This moment starts with the Ducks on defense in game three of the CBI Championship series, with the score tied and 33 seconds left. The ball was inbounded to Creighton guard Antoine Young, who got lost “deep in the woods,” backing up across the non-existent half-court line that was missing from the brand new Matthew Knight Arena in its initial season. Oregon got the ball back on the violation, and with two seconds left on the clock, E.J. Singler banked in a runner to give the Ducks the CBI title. Once again, the Pit Crew was thrown into a frenzy, celebrating wildly as first-year coach Dana Altman knocked off his former team in the tournament final.

This is as close as Oregon basketball will ever get to “The Pick.” With four seconds left and the score even at 68-68 in overtime, guard Damyean Dotson poked away a bad Utah pass and took it the length of the court, slamming the ball home to win the game and keeping the Ducks at a perfect 13-0 record.

If you have any other nominees, put them in the comments and we will add it to the poll. Voting closes a week from now, and the top vote-getter advances to the tournament of champions.

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Best YouTube Moments In Washington State Basketball: The Nominees

Posted by Connor Pelton (@ConnorPelton28) on January 13th, 2014

Last month we introduced our new project, which is centered around determining the top YouTube moment in Pac-12 basketball history. We continue the nomination portion with Washington State.

[ed note: These are just the top moments we could find on YouTube, which has a vast number and array of videos, but we won’t be able to cover the entire 99 years of the conference.]

We open with this beauty of a game-saving block from forward D.J. Shelton. Down by one in the first game of the best-of-three CBI Championship series, Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall caught the ball at midcourt with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. Woodall took two dribbles, drove into the lane, and attempted to throw in a reverse layup into the hoop as time expired. Only the ball never got there. Shelton bodied up the guard as he got into the paint, then swatted away the futile attempt with great force. A Panthers’ three-point attempt as time expired fell short, and the Cougars escaped with the 67-66 win.

Down one. Overtime. Two and a half seconds left. Senior Day. Against No. 14 Arizona State. That’s the scene for senior Taylor Rochestie, who then buried a three from southern Canada to spring the upset. This is what’s great about college hoops, and this is definitely the highlight of the Washington State options. Read the rest of this entry »

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Introducing the Best Pac-12 Moments of YouTube Tournament

Posted by Connor Pelton (@ConnorPelton28) on November 12th, 2013

Next month, we here on the Pac-12 Microsite will start in with the first stages of a massive project; to find the best ever Pac-12 moment on YouTube.

p12 youtube banner

The braintrust here has selected three plays/sequences/moments from each team in the conference. We will put those up to a vote in separate posts over the next few weeks, and the top vote-getter from each school will advance to the bracket of champions.

“But wait, where do I come in?” Glad you asked. In addition to voting for each team’s representative, we ask that you put your own favorite moments from YouTube in the comments section or tweet them @rushthecourt, which we will add to the polls. Or, if you know of a video on some secret corner of the internet, put that in as well. The more the merrier.

So, get ready for diving-into-the-tunnel saves, NCAA Tournament buzzer beaters, and thread-the-needle passes. This is going to be fun.

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